JERUSALEM — Elite Israeli forces launched a dramatic raid in Syria, destroying a secret underground long-range missile factory that also contained information about Syria's chemical weapons program in September, according to the Israeli military.
The IDF revealed the mission for the first time on Thursday in a call with reporters.
“This is one of our most important and complex special operations in recent years, even in this complex year and a half,” IDF spokesman Nadav Shoshani said.
The Israeli army provided stunning footage of Israeli commandos during the daring mission, in addition to the massive explosion of the underground complex after the forces cleared it.
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Israeli army special forces inside a Syrian missile complex in September 2024. (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The Israeli army spokesman said: “The precision-guided missile factory or facility was dug into the side of an underground mountain.”
Information about Syria's chemical weapons program was revealed during the mission.
“I've seen some of them — notebooks and documents — and a lot of them contain very specific chemicals,” Shoshani said. “One such thing I saw was a chemical manual describing how to manufacture a missile at the end of the raid. Troops dismantled the facility, including machinery and manufacturing, to ensure Israel’s safety.”
The Assad regime repeatedly used chemical weapons against its own people during the nearly 14-year civil war that tore the country apart. The Hezbollah movement, designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, played a major role in helping the Assad regime during the civil war.
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The factory was designed to manufacture between 150-350 missiles annually, including… Precision guided missiles (PGM).) According to the Israeli army. Commandos from the Israeli army's elite air unit, Shaldag, participated in the mission. The Israeli army said that 30 Syrian soldiers were killed during the operation.
An Israeli army spokesman told reporters that the operation “was targeting an Iranian-financed precision-guided missile factory inside Syrian territory near the border with Lebanon. This facility was designed to manufacture hundreds of strategic missiles annually from start to finish for Hezbollah to use in its air attacks on Israel and its axis.” Iranian in Syria.
“Due to the specific terrain and the presence of this underground facility, we were unable to operate from the air zone. Also, on September 8 of last year, 2024, special forces carried out a targeted night raid on the facility. This raid included more than 100 soldiers. There were also dozens “Aircraft, including helicopters and other types of aircraft, and the troops were transported by helicopter.”
Israeli Air Force Shaldag raids a missile factory in Syria. (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, “I salute our heroic fighters for the bold and successful operation deep into Syria.” He added, “This was one of the most important preventive operations that we carried out against the Iranian axis' efforts to arm itself to attack us, and it testifies to our boldness and determination to move everywhere to defend ourselves.”
After the destroyer October 7, 2023, Hamas invades IsraelAfter killing more than 1,200 people, including 40 Americans, Israel faced multi-pronged attacks from the Iranian regime – Hamas's main sponsor, Hezbollah; The Houthis; and He overthrew Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria.
“The Israeli perspective for years has been that Iran is acting as an octopus in the Middle East, with its head being Tehran’s nuclear program and the weapons being conventional terrorism,” Amit Segal, senior political analyst for Israel’s Channel 12, told Fox News Digital. Netanyahu's view was that the weapon was intended to harass and occupy Israel while racing toward nuclear capability, so it was better to contain it and focus on the main threat.
Israeli army officials are monitoring the operation. (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
“That perception was shattered on October 7 when it became clear that the weapons were not just a nuisance but an existential threat.”
A complex commando raid on the underground Syrian factory could also be a powerful shot in the arm for the Islamic Republic of Iran Iranian nuclear weapons facilities are installed in mountains.
“After a year and a quarter dedicated to cutting off octopus arms, Israel stands in 2025 at a historic crossroads for the confrontation that Netanyahu has long sought and for which history will judge him: eliminating the nuclear threat once and for all,” Segal noted.
Hezbollah terrorists form a human barrier during the funeral procession of slain Hezbollah supreme leader Fouad Shukr in the southern suburb of Beirut, August 1, 2024. (Khaled Desouky/AFP via Getty Images)
The Israeli army spokesman said that construction on the Syrian missile factory “began at the end of 2017 and ended in 2021 when manufacturing machines were sent from Iran to the site. Most of the components in the factory were obtained from Iran.”
The Israeli army spokesman said that from October 2023 to November 2024, Hezbollah fired more than 17,000 shells towards Israel, killing dozens of Israelis.
